Form · Maritime, Shipping & Transport
Marine incident alert (AMSA Form 18) and incident report (AMSA Form 19)
Guide to AMSA's marine incident alert (Form 18, within 4 hours for regulated Australian and foreign vessels) and incident report (Form 19, within 72 hours), with the statutory duties behind them and how to keep statements accurate.
- Kind
- Form. A form to complete, or a guide to completing an official one.
- Where it applies
- Australia, Commonwealth
- AI use
- Yellow AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at
- 17 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 17 October 2026 against the official form at amsa.gov.au and the 2 authorities it cites, for Australia and Commonwealth.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Link to the official form. Licence: Link only. AMSA's online forms are official forms; AMSA website content is © Commonwealth of Australia (AMSA).
Where this comes from
The official form is published by amsa.gov.au; this page is a completion guide. Last checked on 2026-10-17.
When to use it
Use when a vessel the client owns, operates or masters is involved in a marine incident in Australian waters, or a regulated Australian vessel anywhere. Use AMSA's current online forms. Do not use as a substitute for notifying other authorities (police, ATSB, port, environmental).
How AI may be used
AI may organise logbook extracts and crew accounts into a chronology for checking, but every statement in the report must be verified against logs and first-hand accounts because reports can be used in investigations and claims.
AI may
- Build a timeline from deck and engine logs, VDR or ECDIS exports and crew statements, citing each source.
- Check a draft report for internal inconsistencies with the chronology.
- Prepare a list of information the forms require that is still missing.
AI must not
- Must not draft statements about cause, fault or crew conduct.
- Must not fill gaps in the timeline with assumptions.
- Must not submit the form or communicate with AMSA.
The lawyer checks
- The deadlines (4 hours for Form 18 where required, 72 hours for Form 19, and 'as soon as reasonably practicable' for serious DCV incidents) are met.
- Facts are stated, not opinions on cause or liability, and each is supported by a log or witness.
- Notifications to P&I club, hull insurers, ATSB, port authority and others have been considered.
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Official form
Open the official form. Always use the current version from the issuer. Licence: Link only. AMSA's online forms are official forms; AMSA website content is © Commonwealth of Australia (AMSA)..
Read the full text
The full text is for signed-in accounts. It is free. When you sign in you can:
- read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
- copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
- add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
- let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.
The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
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